God is on the move

Can you imagine a place rich in history filled with enchanting church buildings whose aged walls bear witness to centuries of gatherings of God’s people? Imagine vaulted ceilings holding the echoes of thousands of songs of praise heard long ago, stone floors worn by the knees of prayers, and weathered pews that remain empty year round. This is the state of most churches in Great Britain: empty rooms ‘waiting for the believers.’


England is experiencing a steep descent into the world of unbelief. The post-Christian world of England, as well as the rest of Europe, is increasingly antagonistic toward Christianity in its various forms. Recently I was discussing the UK with a friend who is headed to Scotland to do mission work and he was telling me about a survey done in the UK which showed a drastic decline in the percentage of people who claim to believe in a god. 38% of people believe in a god of some kind, leaving 62% of people who do not believe. However, the percentage of people who confess belief in the God of scripture is probably closer to 20-25% of the population.  That means that 3 out of every 4 people in England is an unbeliever.

Think about those numbers for a minute.

Let it sink in.

You have heard it said, perhaps by me, that, in England, God is being pushed to the fringes of society. That Christianity is being removed from culture and is being erased from the collective memory. Well, I want to give us all a new perspective to look at which will change this bleak and dreary image of the state of belief in the world on its head and begin to give us hope.

First, is God so easily moved? I have painted a picture of England that shows the overwhelming reality of unbelief which permeates through culture and society. What I have failed to do is to paint the other picture. The one of highest importance. Because that is a picture, not of God being pushed away, but rather of God breaking in. This picture is harder for us to see because of the glaring truth of agnosticism and atheism which have become so prevalent. However, God is at work.

You remember the story The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe? It is a tale of four children who wander upon a frozen land ruled by an evil witch. The witch's reign has brought winter to a once beautiful and prosperous land and this winter has lasted for over a hundred years. But with the arrival of the four children, two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam, there begins to be whispers of a coming change. The children stumble across the Narnians who know of a great legend that makes the claim that when these daughters of Eve and these sons of Adam come they will help break the curse on the land and will usher in the return of Aslan. In the movie there is a line which speaks to the heart of this picture we are trying to paint. The beaver tells the four children, "Aslan is on the move."

With Aslan on the move the seasons begin to change. Winter slowly melts away and in the in-breaking of Aslan's rule takes place.

When C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe England was at its tipping point of belief. It was at this point that churches began to empty and become museums rather than places of worship. The decline was gradual at first but rapidly picked up steam through the coming years. But Lewis' books are a great tool to glimpse into what God is doing in England today. While it appears as if England is in a state of perpetual winter, a state of perpetual unbelief which is continuing to grow, I can boldly say "God is on the move."

Movement often takes time. A great deal of time. However, God can move quick and transform entire cities as he did at Nineveh through Jonah. And sometimes God's movement is slow and takes a great deal of time and energy on the part of the worker. I do not know what God has in store for England. But I do know that God is on the move and the transformation of the seasons of belief is already taking place. I have seen it. Right now it is in the form of one or two small flower bulbs surrounded by a sea of winter snow. But God is there.

My family and I are on a journey. We are living in Nashville working alongside a dynamic new church plant, receiving the kind of training we need in order to move to London and begin planting churches which will help reactivate belief in the city. We are here to learn. We are here to be blessed. We are here to develop our skills and create a network of support.

But we are not just here working at Ethos so that they can pour themselves into us and not be filled in return. The partnership that we are making with Ethos is one that will be incredibly fruitful for years to come. I say this because the picture I just painted, both of the bleakness and the hope, is the direction that the USA is headed. You want to know what belief will look like in another generation or two here in the states? Just look at where it is today in the UK. So, the work that we are preparing for has never been more important. We pray that the churches we will plant in London can help Reactive belief, Restore lives, and Reconnect the natural influence of London to God's mission. But also, we pray that the churches we will plant can help answer some of the big questions of belief that the US has not yet begun to ask, but will in the coming years.

Can you imagine a place rich in history filled with enchanting church buildings whose aged walls bear witness to centuries of gatherings of God’s people? Imagine vaulted ceilings holding the echoes of thousands of songs of praise, stone floors worn by the knees of prayers, and weathered pews filled with followers of Jesus. This is the vision we hold for Great Britain. God is on the move.